Supermicro launches a gamut of new Xeon E5 servers

I wanted to add Supermicro to the list of Xeon E5 V3 launch suppliers covered in my blog. Supermicro has been growing its x86 server market share (see Figure) and well-known for the breadth and depth of its portfolio. It was the main server supplier to Service Providers and technically advanced enterprise customers who don’t need the deep handholding of Converged Infrastructure and Integrated Systems.
You’ll want to know more about what it’s launched and compare it with HP, Dell and IBM/Lenovo approaches.

What’s in the X10 range

• Ultra SuperServer – 2 socket in 1U and 2U versions with up to 18 cores, 1TB DRAM, designed for applications such as low-latency trading
• MicroBlade – a 2 socket, 6U module with up to 14 cores is added to other modules (including Intel Atom), designed for Cloud Computing, data centre and HPC applications amonst others
• TwinPro/TwinPro² – 2 socket 2U or 4U hot pluggable servers with up to 18 cores and 1TB DRAM, supports Intel Phi co-processor, designed for HPC and scientific/technical computing
• FatTwin – 2 socket 4U server with up to 8 hot Pluggable nodes and a maximum of 18 cores and 1TB DRAM, designed for higher density and better power efficiency that the TwinPro family
• SuperBlade – 2 socket, 7U blade with up to 18 cores and 1TB DRAM in server and storage configurations, designed for data centers, 10 or 14 blades in each chassis
• Data Center Optimized – 2 socket 1U or 2U rack server with up to 1TB DRAM, includes an advanced thermal architecture with power efficient components
• WIO SuperServer – 2 socket, 1 or 2 CPU server with up to 18 cores and 1TB DRAM, optimised I/O solutions, designed for ERP/MRP, network and security applications among others

It is also putting the new chips in other products such as its GPU/Xeon Phi solution Tower, Mainstream SuperServer solution Tower, SuperStorage, SuperWorkstation, Motherboards and its IoT Gateway SYS-E100-8Q offerings. Supermicro is offering the new Non Volatile Memory express (NVMe) cards on many of these products.

Some Conclusions – Infinite Combinations

Supermicro’s success has been based on its ability to work closely with Intel, quickly integrating its new processors into as wide a spread of Tower, rack and blade form factors as possible. Making a seemingly infinite number of offerings available to its clients is a long way from the Converged Infrastructure and Integrated System (CIandIS) strategies of many others. This is because its customers tend to be Service Providers or highly technical enterprises who already know how they can use new servers for their existing applications. One major customer has been SoftLayer, now owned by IBM of course, which we know will adopt Power Systems in the future: it seems much less likely that it will swap Supermicro for System x however, now the latter is going to Lenovo.